Tag Archives: FTSE

Retail realities bite William Hill’s 2019 performance

SBC News Retail realities bite William Hill’s 2019 performance

FTSE250 William Hill Plc has this morning published its full-year 2019 results, recording a 2% decline in group revenues to £1.58 billion (FY2019: £1.6bn).  The bookmaker branded 2019 as a ‘transformative year’, in which it has restructured its three core trading divisions for online, retail and the US. Continued retail adjustments related to shop closures and redundancies saw William Hill …

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Short Sellers target UK betting’s regulatory exposure

SBC News Short Sellers target UK betting's regulatory exposure

City news sources report that an £80 million bet has been placed against GVC Holdings, believing that the FTSE250 betting group’s share price will significantly devalue within the coming weeks. The short position against GVC has been taken by Chicago-based hedge fund Citadel, a $32 billion fund led by renowned activist investor Ken Griffin. Citadel analysts have confidence in betting …

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Playtech points to ‘strong core’ as TradeTech struggles

SBC News Playtech points to 'strong core' as TradeTech struggles

Publishing its latest year-to-date trading update, the governance of Playtech Plc has disclosed that full-year adjusted EBITDA will be below market consensus, despite the firm’s ‘core business’ segments continuing to perform strongly. The FTSE250 technology group attributes its earnings slowdown to financial unit ‘TradeTech’, which expects 2019 results to be ‘well below management expectations’. Updating investors, Playtech governance informs that …

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CIRSA gains competition clearance on Sportium takeover

SBC News CIRSA gains competition clearance on Sportium takeover

Spain’s Competition & Markets Authority (CNMC) will allow Grupo CIRSA to acquire bookmaker Sportium outright, permitting the Blackstone owned operator the right to purchase Ladbrokes 50% joint-venture shareholding. The CNMC had been forced to review CIRSA’s pending €70 million acquisition of Ladbrokes JV stake in Sportium, which would see CIRSA control Spain’s biggest wagering network made-up of 3,000 retail betting …

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Paddy Power Betfair extends loan capacity to £700 million

SBC News Paddy Power Betfair extends loan capacity to £700 million

Issuing a market filing, FTSE100 betting group Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) has confirmed it has added an additional £250 million to its corporate loan facility. Updating investors, PPB governance details that it has expanded its corporate loan facility to gain ‘further strategic financial flexibility’. The firm’s latest transaction will be added to PPB’s existing £450 million five-year revolving credit facility, …

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Digital growth sees GVC post ‘excellent start’ to 2019 trading

SBC News Digital growth sees GVC post 'excellent start' to 2019 trading

FTSE100 gambling group GVC Holdings reports an ‘excellent start to the year’, publishing its pro-forma trading update for Q1 2019 (period ending 31-March), as the company now enters a crucial adjustment period for all UK gambling incumbents. Updating the market, GVC governance reports a strong volume of growth across all major territories, driven by the firm’s online gambling assets, as …

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GVC confirms agreed departure of Lee Feldman as Chairman

SBC News GVC confirms agreed departure of Lee Feldman as Chairman

This weekend, UK business news sources reported that GVC Holdings seeks a new Chairman, as incumbent Lee Feldman is preparing to announce his formal departure from the FTSE100 betting group. The news of the departure comes amid GVC investor backlash at Feldman and Chief Executive Kenneth Alexander having offloaded a combined 3 million of company shares, at the presumed ‘discounted …

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Philip Bowcock – Pivotal 2018 has laid global growth foundations for William Hill

SBC News Philip Bowcock – Pivotal 2018 has laid global growth foundations for William Hill

Closing a ‘pivotal 2018’ for William Hill operations, Group Chief Executive Philip Bowcock states that the firm’s reformed executive team has ‘real clarity and purpose’ on its objectives and guidance for 2019, entering a period which will define the legacy bookmaker’s future business entity. “This business has seen a lot of change over its 85-year history, but arguably, never before …

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William Hill closes year of tough calls recording £700m losses

SBC News William Hill closes year of tough calls recording £700m losses

Changing UK gambling dynamics see FTSE250 bookmaker William Hill Plc report operating losses of £721 million, closing its full-year 2018 accounts. In its end-of-year statement, the betting group accounts for combined exceptional costs totalling £922 million. These include the ‘one-off’ £880 million retail impairment charge, confirmed during Q3 2018 trading, following the UK government’s ‘Triennial Review’ judgement lowering FOBTs stakes to a …

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Andrew Thomas ends tenure as Playtech advisor

SBC News Andrew Thomas ends tenure as Playtech advisor

Further to publishing its full-year 2018 results, yesterday FTSE250 gambling technology group Playtech Plc confirmed the departure of Andrew Thomas as a corporate Independent Non-Executive Director. A seasoned executive in corporate financing, taxation and UK leisure/entertainment commercial enterprise, Thomas has served as a Playtech governance advisor since 2012. During his tenure as a Playtech Non-Executive Director, Thomas chaired the FTSE …

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